Acoustics of Small Rooms

Much time is spent working out how to optimize the acoustics of large rooms, such as auditoria, but the acoustics of small rooms and environments can be just as vital. The expensive sound equipment of a recording studio or the stereo in a car or living room is likewise rendered useless if the acoustic environment is not right for them. Changes in wavelength to room size ratio and the time difference between the direct and reflected sound at the listening location mean that the acoustics of small spaces are quite different to those of large spaces. Tackling these specific aspects of physics, sound perception, and applications for small spaces, Acoustics of Small Rooms brings together important facets of small room acoustics. Divided into clear sections, it covers: Sound propagation—the effects of boundaries, sound absorbers, and time conditions Physiology and psychoacoustics Methods and techniques of room and sound field optimization Examples of how these principles apply in real situations Measurement and modeling techniques

Physics of small room sound fields Sound fields in enclosures: Waves Geometrical Acoustics Sound absorbers Sound diffusers Hearing Psychoacoustics Spatial hearing Sound reproduction in small rooms Low frequency sound field optimization Rooms for sound reproduction Small rooms for voice and music practice Modeling of room acoustics Measurement of room acoustics

Mendel Kleiner is professor emeritus and former professor of acoustics at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden and a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America. He is author of Electroacoustics, also published by CRC Press Jiri Tichy is professor emeritus and former professor of acoustics at the Graduate Department of Acoustics, The Pennsylvania State University, where he transferred Acoustics into the College of Engineering as a Department of Acoustics. He was president of both the Acoustical Society of America and the Institute of Noise Control Engineering. He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, the Audio Engineering Society, and the Institute of Noise Control Engineering.